Just got this place. This panel is in the garage. It is connected to the house main on a 50amp breaker. the panel in garage has 8 circuits going out to 20 outlets and one light fixture on ceiling. I know Zinsco is bad fire hazard and want to replace. Also curious if I would be able to only use half of the outlets and have a 220 line in garage. Is this possible?
Electrical – zinsco breaker box in garage
circuit breakerelectricalfirerepairwiring
Related Topic
- Electrical – Replacing 10 amp breaker for 20 amp
- Electrical – Rewiring house and replacing breaker panel. Wiring layout and breaker selections
- Electrical – Breaker feeding sub-panel causes other breakers to trip
- Electrical – Running 240v power to detached garage for electric vehicle
- Replacing Electrical Line to Garage in Canada – How to Guide
- Upgrading garage fuse box to breaker box using existing 10/2 wire with ground
- Electrical Panel – Is Your Pool Subpanel Circuit Correct?
- Electrical – Are there safety concerns or code violations with the garage sub-panel
Best Answer
Well, I'd suggest selecting a new subpanel with a lot more than 8 spaces. For expansion room, mainly; if you get busy you can fill it. (you can run a LOT of stuff on 50A feeder).
You probably weren't imagining a 24-space panel, but the fact is, panel spaces are laughably cheap... whereas running out of spaces is a major frustration. So it really, really is "false economy" to scrimp on the size of the panel. Buy spaces like you never want to buy them again. Because you don't.
The new panel will be taller and you won't have any trouble getting all the cables fully into the panel and 1/4" past the cable clamp while they are still in the sheath.
A new installation would require a separate neutral and ground. Also, ground (alone) can be retrofitted. However, simply replacing the panel to get rid of that Zinsco should not oblige you to upgrade to a grounded feed. Also, adding individual circuits should not have that effect.